Lady Eagles fall on penalty kicks in BSC final

From staff reports

CHARLESTON -- Winthrop's run in the Big South Conference tournament came to an end in the finals Sunday, as the eighth-seeded Lady Eagles fell 4-2 on penalty kicks to seventh-seeded High Point at Blackbaud Stadium.

It was the third consecutive game in the tournament for Winthrop (5-10-6) that went to the penalty-kick round.

“We're sad and disappointed for not winning the conference tournament,” coach Melissa Heinz said. “We worked hard to become conference champions. Someone has to lose and someone has to win.”

The Lady Eagles outshot High Point 5-3 in the first half, while the Panthers held a 9-8 shot advantage in the second stanza.

Kathryn Leach got things started in the penalty-kick round to give Winthrop a 1-0 lead, but Laura Eldridge tied it for the Panthers at 1-1. Winthrop's Courtney Durbin followed to make it 2-1, but Kim Grennan answered back to tie it again at 2-2. The Lady Eagles were unable to score again in penalty kicks, and High Point took advantage placing two consecutive shots in the back of the net.

“I'm proud of the players,” Heinz said. “We worked and played hard. We're thankful for everyone that was here to watch the match. We played to win; we wouldn't have done anything differently.”

The Panthers (7-14-2) finished the contest with an 18-15 advantage in total shots, while both teams had four shots on goal. High Point led 3-2 in corner kicks.

Kelsy Weavil snagged a total of four saves in the match for Winthrop. Marisa Abbott had four saves for the Panthers.

“We'll heal from this and go even harder next year,” Heinz said. “The future looks bright for us, but for right now, I'm just going to be proud of this team that got us here.”

Senior Stevie Lucas, junior Katie Perkinson and freshman Kylie Long were named to the all-tournament team for Winthrop. Abbott was named tournament MVP.

All tournament team

High Point — Marisa Abbott (MVP), Jillie Johnston, Brielle Spencer, Danielle Rosado

Winthrop — Kylie Long, Katie Perkinson, Stevie Lucas

VMI — Audrey Falconi, Alexi Staton

Radford — Maryellen Derenda, Justine Dugger

Coastal Carolina — Corie Coles

Liberty — Ashley Nyholt

Gardner-Webb — Megan Tremblay

Charleston Southern — Marky Boyce